Joe Espada may no longer be running the Astros’ dugout, but he’s still talking about Yordan Alvarez like someone who knows exactly what makes the slugger different.
And the answer, in Espada’s eyes, goes beyond the raw power that has made Alvarez one of the game’s most feared bats. The former Houston manager said on SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio that Alvarez’s biggest strength is how complete his offensive game really is.
“What makes Yordan a great hitter is that he's not only a power hitter. He's a hitter first,” the former Houston skipper told SiriusXM's MLB Network Radio.
“Yordan knows that he can always put his B-swing on an at-bat and still be productive… So he always talked to all the hitters about how he approaches certain pitchers certain days, and he made it sound so easy…. But he was open about how he went about his approach, and he wanted to help everyone around him.”
That’s the part of Alvarez’s game that can get lost when the home runs start piling up. He is absolutely a threat to leave the yard, but he’s not the type to sell out for it every trip to the plate. He works with the pitch, uses the whole field and keeps producing no matter what the pitcher tries to do.
The numbers back up the picture. Alvarez hit a career-high 42 home runs, finishing one behind Pete Alonso for the American League lead, and he has now topped 30 homers in every season in which he has played more than 100 games. In 692 plate appearances, he put together an MLB-best .316/.432/.601/1.033 slash line and drove in 106 runs.
Even with only 25 games in left field, Alvarez still posted 6.8 WAR. His production helped carry an injury-riddled, thin roster through the season and into an AL Central title. The primary designated hitter’s work was so overwhelming that he earned unanimous AL MVP honors.
Alvarez has long been known as a wrecking ball at the plate, but 2026 was the season when he put everything together at his highest level. Espada’s comments cut right to the core of why: he can do damage even when the swing isn’t perfect, and that makes him a nightmare for pitchers.
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